migraine sufferer, hi atleast we arent alone!

Hi I am so pleased to have found this site.  It is so very isolating at times to have this migraine condition and from my experience people don't truly understand unless they have been through it themselves.  Suffering alone is miserable isn't it, so I have recently taken steps to face it head on and to speak out.

I started having migraines at 25 years old.  I have had them now for 14 years but recently they have become worse and much more frequent.  I have been off work and only seem to manage to get back for a few days.  My job is to stand up in front of people so there isn't anywhere to hide!  Being self employed is useful in picking when I work, but the down side is no financial support as no work no pay and also extremely difficult to maintain client loyalty.   I have always had migraine with aura and often nocturnal migraine.  The aura I have is: zig zags, sensitivity to light, smell and sound, nausea, sometimes numbness of face and mouth but have recently also been having more severe symptoms of slurred words, increased & more regular numbness in mouth and face, inability to find words, confusion, disorientated and also ice pick headaches in between.   On average I have been suffering with migraine around 12 days per month.  My migraines last about 4 days each time.

What's your experience of Aspirin?  I recently took Aspirin at 900mg as suggested with anti sickness drug.  During the aura I had the usual symptoms but I also appeared/felt drunk & I felt extremely faint & "out of it", could this be the Aspirin? or would it be my migraine worsening?

What's your experience of Hormonal Migraines? I also wondered about the fact that some of my migraines appear during the day before or first day of period. However I was told recently by a headache specialist GP that this wouldn't be to do with hormones at all as I have aura????

Thanks
Em

Welcome to the Forums.
I agree that most people don't really understand what a migraine is. To most people it's just a bad headache with nausea/vomiting - a bit like a hangover. And if they have ever heard of the term aura as used with migraines, they only think in terms or visual disturbances. There are many migraineurs that will relate to your other migraine symptoms. Fortunately I rarely suffer from nausea, but the hypersensitivity, face numbness, slurred words, inability to find words, confusion and disorientation, I'm familiar with.

Aspirin is one of those meds that can cause rebound headaches if over used. I find taking 1000mg does work about 50% of the time. But I can't take more than 2 doses a day or about 4 a week before I get rebound headaches. By "work" I mean reduce the pain level. It does very little for the other symptoms.

I know what you mean when you say you appear drunk and feel out of it. I get that most migraines to some degree. I've never heard of Aspirin causing that, but then everyone reacts slightly differently to medication. If you think your migraines are changing, it's probably advisable to discuss it with your doctor. One thing to consider though, is that if the Aspirin reduces the pain level, it might be a case of you being more aware of other symptoms that have been there all along.

Hi and a belated welcome!

I can definitely relate to the menstrual migraines (am just recovering from one right now - day 2 of my period). My hormonal migraines tend to be the sort without aura, but I don't personally believe that all menstrual migraines must be without aura. In fact, I think there is an incredible lack of understanding about menstrual migraine. For example, to be true menstrual migraine, it is supposed to be just before the period or within a couple of days of the period starting. Why then do I, without fail, get a migraine just after my period ends (eg day 6)?

I've no real experience of aspirin, to be honest. You might be finding that the side effects outweigh the benefits for you.

I do not have visual aura but get the numbness in the face, inability to find words, congnitive dysfunction, sensitivity to light and fragrance.

Aspirin doesn't help me, so I have not taken it in quite sometime. It did not make me feel "out of it" - but everyone is different. The migraine makes me feel out of it though. My migraines are marked by the inability to concentrate or think clearly, and by a feeling that I'm sort of out of my head - literally.

I hope you are able to find some help.